The following petition has been launched urging the Maltese Government to implement a national plan of action for the protection of sharks, this is a requirement for all fishing countries:

"We urge the Maltese government to adopt a National Plan of Action for Sharks as required by FAO IPOA - sharks. We also require that all sharks landed in Malta are correctly identified and sold under their proper name and not disguised as other fish. The public need to be made aware that what they are actually buying, might be a species listed as Critically Endangered, as is the squalus acanthias better known in Malta as Mazzola.

From a study which has been carried out in recent years, we are already seeing a trend of sharks being caught as juveniles and therefore haven't yet reproduced to replenish the stocks.

Sharks mature at a late age and after a long gestation period of around 22 months, they give birth to few pups. This is a natural process since sharks are apex predators, so they must be few in numbers. However stocks are easily depleted as a result of this, through overfishing, mass slaughter and wasteful bycatch. 100 million sharks are killed each year all over the world.

In Malta we use longlines for a fishing gear during the tuna season, which manages to catch many sharks as nontargeted species. Although the sharks in Malta are still sold for their meat and therefore not wasted, endangered species are still at risk.

We therefore also urge the government to support studies and help fishers find a better way or a better gear to minimize bycatch.

On the whole we urge the government to take action and help us protect the sharks from extinction and have Malta adopt a sustainable shark fishery."

The petition's sponsor is Graziella Cavlan, who is a researcher with the Malta Shark Research Program. The petition can be accessed online at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/malta-needs-a-plan-of-action-for-sharks, and currently has gathered over 200 signatures.